Recently, I just became obsessed by the story of the Fox in Phoenix…. the place stood for 34 years and could have, should have been saved. The first wave of historic preservation was happening in 1975, so why didn’t anyone care? I’ll tell you why: No one in Phoenix really gives a damn. The Orpheum has been spared(thank God) and magnificently restored, but the Ramona, The Rialto, Cine Capri, (the last 70mm screen in town) and the Kachina in Scottsdale (Cinerama and very cool and kitschy) are all long gone and no one seems to mind at all. The Nile Theatre in Mesa is in use, but it is a sad, mutilated shell of its former glory…..All this boils down to is the fact that if a developer has enough cash, anything as grand as the Phoenix Fox can be knocked down and replaced by something incredibly bland…..I fear for other buildings around Phoenix besides theatres, too. We have a good number of Art Deco office buildings just sitting and rotting. Can we stop this destructive tide? Write me if you wanna talk about this. Also, the Fox had one screen and sat 1800 people. AND there is a great book about the architect, Mr. Charles S.Lee called The Show Starts On The Sidewalk, available at the Phoenix Public Library. Lee built HUNDREDS of theatres, he had an amazing life. Thanks for reading this!
Recently, I just became obsessed by the story of the Fox in Phoenix…. the place stood for 34 years and could have, should have been saved. The first wave of historic preservation was happening in 1975, so why didn’t anyone care? I’ll tell you why: No one in Phoenix really gives a damn. The Orpheum has been spared(thank God) and magnificently restored, but the Ramona, The Rialto, Cine Capri, (the last 70mm screen in town) and the Kachina in Scottsdale (Cinerama and very cool and kitschy) are all long gone and no one seems to mind at all. The Nile Theatre in Mesa is in use, but it is a sad, mutilated shell of its former glory…..All this boils down to is the fact that if a developer has enough cash, anything as grand as the Phoenix Fox can be knocked down and replaced by something incredibly bland…..I fear for other buildings around Phoenix besides theatres, too. We have a good number of Art Deco office buildings just sitting and rotting. Can we stop this destructive tide? Write me if you wanna talk about this. Also, the Fox had one screen and sat 1800 people. AND there is a great book about the architect, Mr. Charles S.Lee called The Show Starts On The Sidewalk, available at the Phoenix Public Library. Lee built HUNDREDS of theatres, he had an amazing life. Thanks for reading this!